I Know This One
by LoryLynn1186
Summary: A case destroys Elliot's plan to keep his job and his personal life separate as Maureen becomes tangled up in a rapehomicide. Casefile with an EO pairing in later chapters.
1. Connections

**I Know This One

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"What d'we got?" Elliot asked slamming the driver's side door and starting toward the area taped off with yellow police tape.

"White female, late teens or early twenties," M.E. Warner explained. "Trauma to the face, breasts, and groin area. She's definitely a rape victim."

"She's a student at Hudson," a member of CSU called from further inside the alley.

"How do we know that?" Olivia asked falling into step with her partner as they reached the blanket covered corpse. She knelt down next to the body and gently pulled back the blanket, sighing sadly to herself.

The vic was a young girl with soft brown hair creating a halo around her head. Her features were plain, deep purple bruises surrounded the left side of her mouth and her left cheek bone and a small cut above her right eyebrow had already begun to heal. Her blouse was torn down the middle, her jeans pulled down to her ankles. Several slash marks adorned her breasts and stomach, looking almost like she was attacked by a cat.

Elliot looked down at the girl and immediately his heart sank. He knew this girl, he'd seen her somewhere before but couldn't place exactly where. _'Hudson? Maybe she knew Maureen, but God I hope not,'_ he thought sullenly. "How do we know she went to Hudson University?" he asked tearing his eyes away from the sight before him.

"Found a school ID and room keys on a chain," a young man in uniform said. He handed the evidence to Elliot who accepted it in his gloved hand.

"Name's Melody Banks, she's a sophomore at Hudson," Elliot read. He stared at the picture, unblinking, wondering where he'd seen the girl before.

"Elliot?" Olivia asked noticing that her partner had been staring at the ID for some time. "What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Nothing," he said snapping back to reality.

"I'll let you know more when I get the autopsy done," Melinda said before following the medics out of the alley. CSU remained, searching for anything else that could be hidden in the shadows of the alley.

"Come on, let's get back to the precinct," Olivia said taking Elliot's arm and leading him back to the car. She slipped in the passenger's seat while Elliot took the seat behind the steering wheel, gripping it tightly, staring straight ahead. "Seriously El," she finally spoke up, "what's up?"

"That girl," he said never breaking the staring contest he was having with the building across the street, "I can't help but shake the feeling that I've seen her before."

"Well it's a big city-"

"No, I mean I've met her before," he interrupted.

"She's went to Hudson, maybe she was a friend of Maureen's?"

"I really hope she wasn't," he sighed. After another moment of staring, Elliot started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

* * *

"Okay so what do we know about our vic?" Captain Cragen asked.

"Her name is Melody Banks, she's a sophomore at Hudson University," Olivia filled in.

"She was raped and beaten, left in an alley four blocks from campus," Elliot took over, pointing to a map on the side of the board.

"We got a next of kin?"

"Munch and Fin are going to the parents' apartment in Lower Manhattan," Olivia said.

"Do we have anything from the rape kit yet?" Cragen asked.

"M.E. just dropped off the results," Elliot said tossing a file onto Olivia's desk, "perp used a condom so we've got no semen."

"Let me know when we get something concrete," the Captain said before retiring to his office.

* * *

"Mr. and Mrs. Banks, I know this is hard but can you think of anyone that would have a grudge against your daughter?" Munch asked.

Mr. and Mrs. Banks sat on the couch opposite the two detectives in their small, but comfortable apartment. Mr. Banks sat with his arm around his wife's shoulders, comforting the sobbing woman. In general parents never reacted well to the news that the detectives brought, and really who could blame them; the Banks were no exception. It had taken Fin nearly half an hour to calm the woman down.

"Not that I can think of," Mr. Banks replied.

"Everyone loved Melody, she was such a sweet girl."

Fin hated this part of the job, it never got easier and it never went away. He dug into his coat pocket and pulled out one of his business cards. "If you remember anything else, give us a call."

Mr. Banks accepted the card before escorting the detectives to the door with a final 'thank you'.

"Some days I really hate this job," Munch said while he and Fin took the elevator down to the lobby.

"Tell me about it."

* * *

Maureen slid her key into the door of her dorm room, twisting and pushing the heavy thing open. Looking inside, she knew her roommate wouldn't be there and silently thanked the Gods of Registration that Becca had been given a crappy schedule.

"All clear," she said quietly before turning to the person behind her, a tall boy with dark brown hair and green eyes. He moved inside the door, shutting it quickly and crushing his lips to her own. Maureen was caught off guard, but quickly caught on returning the kiss with as much passion as he did.

"God I've…waited all…day for…this," she managed to get out between gasps of air.

"Me too," he replied.

Their embrace escalated until Maureen finally broke away. "Okay, we definitely need to get some work done."

"Do we have to?" Nate whined.

Maureen gave him a stern look before grabbing her book bag that had been dropped to the floor and taking a seat on her bed. "You know if we don't study that we're both gonna fail that history test, and I personally would like to get a good grade."

"All right you make a good point," he surrendered. Grabbing his own bag Nathan took a seat next to his study partner who was busy flipping through her notes. "So what do we start with?"

"I'll ask you questions from the notes so we'll know how much we work we actually have to do. Ready?"

"Hit me," he said brushing aside her long, dirty blonde hair and pressing his lips softly to the back of her neck.

"W-when did the French Revolution start?" she asked trying not to concentrate on what he was doing.

"1789," he said, still kissing her neck and working his way towards her right earlobe.

"G-good," Maureen sighed she tried to form a cohere thought but it just wasn't happening. Finally giving up on her notes, she turned and captured his lips in her own. The kiss was short lived as a loud knock resonated through the room. The two parted and shared a frustrated look before Maureen climbed off her bed and walked to the door and peered through the peephole. "Oh my God," she gasped seeing her father standing outside the door.

"What is it?" Nate asked.

"My dad and his partner," Maureen cursed.

"Partner?" he asked confused. "Is your dad gay?"

"What? No! He's a cop!"

"Oh shit!" he shouted a little too loudly.

"Maureen?" Elliot called through the door. "I can hear you in there so don't pretend like you're not home."

"Just a minute dad!" she called.

"And don't bother making the boy disappear I already heard him," Elliot shouted.

Maureen's shoulders slumped in defeat. Reluctantly she opened the door and let Olivia pass her before facing her dad. "What are you doing here?"

"A father can't visit his baby girl for no reason?" Elliot asked planting a chaste kiss on Maureen's cheek.

"Dad you haven't stopped by to see me in over three months," she grimaced closing the door.

"Who's you're friend?" Elliot asked giving Nate the stare-down.

"Be nice," Olivia whispered, jabbing her partner in his side.

"Dad this is Nathan, Nathan this is my over-bearing, over-protective father," Maureen teased. The two shook hands, Elliot staring at Nathan while the younger man shrank under the intense glaring.

"Elliot," Olivia warned.

"And this is my dad's partner in crime," Maureen laughed.

"My name's Olivia, it's good to meet you Nathan," she said shaking the boy's hand gently.

"Call me Nate," he said before grabbing his book bag off the floor. "It was nice to meet both of you. Maureen I'll give you a call later tonight."

"Sure," she walked him to the door and kissed him softly before he left down the hall. Maureen shut the door before turning to her father, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, "What's up dad?"

"We need your help on something," Elliot asked. He wasn't sure how to break this to her, that last thing he wanted to do was break his daughter's heart. "Maureen I need you to tell me if you know her," he held a picture that Fin and Munch had brought from the Banks' home.

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**A/N: Okay so do I continue with this story? I live on feedback, so FEED ME!**


	2. The Only Clue

**I Know This One--Chapter 2  
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it gave me fuel to write this next chapter.****

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Maureen took the photo from her father and stared at it briefly before answering, "Yeah that's Mel. She lives two doors down the hall; she's really sweet. Why?"

Elliot tried to hide the look he knew was on his face as he took the picture from his daughter and slid it back into its hiding place within his jacket. He knew what came next and absolutely dreaded the coming moments.

Maureen noticed the somber expressions of both her father and Olivia and immediately knew something wasn't right, but prayed it wasn't as bad as she was expecting. "Dad? What is it? What happened?"

He looked to Olivia for help, but found only the same look of reluctance in her face. "Sweetie," he said taking Maureen and leading her to her bed and making her take a seat.

"Daddy what happened?" the girl asked, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. Maureen knew it was bad; when her dad went into cop mode, the news was never good. The last time she had seen it was when the divorce was finalized.

"Maureen, Melody's body was found this morning in an alley," he said.

No sooner had the news been spoken, than Maureen's body began to shake violently with tears. She brought her hands to her face, not wanting her father to see her cry, and not wanting Olivia to see her this way. All the determination she had to stay strong and keep it together disappeared the moment she felt Elliot's strong arms wrap around her shoulders and pull her body toward his own. Maureen lost every semblance of strength she ever possessed and collapsed against her father's shoulder, sobbing loudly.

"Honey I am so sorry," Elliot whispered as he rubbed Maureen's shoulders lovingly and planting numerous kisses on the top of her head. Knowing that he couldn't say anything to ease the situation, he merely held his oldest daughter and let her cry out all of her anger and sadness.

"Why? Who would want to hurt Mel?" Maureen asked.

"I don't know honey," Elliot said pushing her shoulders back to look in her eyes. "But I promise you that I will find whoever did this and they will pay for it."

Maureen nodded slightly and looked to Olivia; she's been standing off to the side, silently observing the heartening moment shared between father and daughter. Finally finding her voice she said, "Maureen we need your help. I know this is difficult but can you think of anyone that would want to hurt Melody?"

Maureen thought for a moment and shook her head, "She did say something about a kid in chemistry class that had been bugging her lately, but nothing…nothing like this."

"This kid have a name?" Elliot asked.

"Brian Beckner," Maureen said. "He's a junior. Real goofy, kinda creepy."

"Thanks Maureen," Olivia said. She decided that it was best to leave the two alone for a few moments, but before excusing herself from the room she embraced the younger girl whispering, "If you ever need to talk to someone that's not your dad, don't be afraid to call. Day or night." Without waiting for a reply Olivia left.

Elliot stood, suddenly feeling very confined in the small room. He looked around, taking note of the multiple pictures that adorned the wall: pictures of Maureen and her siblings; with both parents, and a few with only Elliot; a picture of Elliot and Olivia taken at last summer's precinct picnic that made him laugh; and a picture of the entire squad, including Casey, with a caption that read 'My Pseudo-family'. Elliot smiled before he noticed a picture in a frame set on the side of the desk. The picture showed Maureen and Nathan, the boy Elliot had only just met, kissing at what appeared to be a heavily populated party.

"Dad?"

"Yeah baby," Elliot answered. He turned and for the first time saw Maureen not as his little girl, but as the determined, strong, beautiful woman she was becoming. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her lean into his embrace.

"You don't have to worry about me and Nate," Maureen said, the sound of her voice muffled against his chest. "It's nothing serious…yet."

Elliot started to say something, but thought better of it. Instead he stood and held Maureen while he tried to understand the world that surrounded him.

* * *

**Medical Examiner's Office**

"CSU found something you guys might like to see," Warner said as the two detective approached. She held up a clear plastic evidence bag for Olivia to take; inside was a small silver bracelet.

"What's this?" Olivia asked.

"It's a link bracelet, all my girls have one," Elliot explained. "You buy links with different symbols on them and join them all together."

"So what do the letters _M-A-G_ stand for?" Olivia asked. Elliot looked to Melinda for help.

"My first thought was initials, and the _M _and the _A_ would support that theory, but the _G_ doesn't fit. The victim's last name was Banks-"

"So where does the _G_ come in?" Elliot finished the sentence. He fingered the bracelet through the bag, examining each of the links in turn. "Well the '04 charm makes sense, she would have graduated high school in 2004 to be a sophomore this year. What about the music one?"

Olivia took the bag from her partner and looked for the link in question. It was the very last one in the set, a blue face with white music notes scattered on a staff. "Maybe she was a music major? Or at least had an interest in music?"

"I'll ask Maureen later," Elliot said. Olivia handed the evidence bag back to Warner with a quiet 'Thank You' before the pair left her office.

* * *

**SVU Squad Room**

"Where is everyone?" Olivia asked as she and Elliot entered the nearly deserted room. Cragen's door was closed and Munch and Fin's desks were empty. She walked passed her and Elliot's desks and knocked on the Captain's door.

"Yeah?"

She pushed the door open and peaked her head inside; Cragen sat at his desk, pen in hand, working furiously at a stack of paper work. "Where is everyone Captain?"

"Munch and Fin are at the Banks's apartment trying to get some more info out of them, I want you and Elliot to head back to campus and canvas the area. Talk to students and teachers, see if they noticed anything unusual in our victim's behavior."

"Ok, we'll call if we get anything," Olivia added before ducking out of the door.

"Well?" Elliot asked.

"Captain wants us to canvas the school, talk to teacher and such," she told him.

Elliot retrieved the keys that he had thrown onto his desk only moments ago, "Let's go."

* * *

**Hudson University**

They'd been interviewing students, teachers, and faculty for over an hour those who knew the victim said the same thing: Melody was a nice girl, kind of quiet, and a good student. No one had noticed any change her in demeanor of late, and the few people that knew she had been murdered were genuinely shocked and appalled.

"We're getting nowhere doing this," Liv sighed.

Elliot was about to respond when something caught his eye; on the opposite end of the campus mall Maureen and Nate were walking, hand in hand, towards one of the benches. He watched carefully as the two took a seat and Maureen opened her notebook.

"Elliot?" Olivia called noticing what it was that had caught his attention. "You know you're going to have to let her grow up someday."

"I know," he sighed, "but sometimes I wish I could just put her in a box and protect her from everything out there." Elliot heard Olivia's phone ring as he turned his attention back to his daughter.

"Benson…yeah we're on campus now…ok…all right Munch we'll meet you guys there," Olivia snapped her phone shut and turned to Elliot. "That was Munch-"

"I kinda got that when you said his name," he teased.

"And he said," she continued with a roll of her eyes to acknowledge his comment, "that Melody's parents gave us permission to go through the things in her room. We might find something there."

Without a word the two partners took off in the direction of Melody's dorm. They were hoping, nay praying, to find something that would give them even a single clue as to why someone would want this girl dead, and until they did they were working blind.

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**Want another one? Read and review!**


	3. Questions

**I Know This One  
Chapter 3: Questions**

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**Bryson Hall  
Hudson University**

After retrieving an RA to let them into Melody's room, Elliot and Olivia slipped on their latex gloves and set to work without waiting for CSU. They made certain to only inspect things that belonged to Melody and not to venture in her roommate's possessions.

The room was set up in nearly the same fashion as Maureen's, with the exception of the beds being bunked rather than separate. The desks rested against opposite walls, facing away from one another, and the dressers were pushed together to create a flat surface for the television to sit on. Elliot chose to examine Melody's desk while Olivia went to the dresser.

The contents of the desk gave Elliot a pretty good idea of what kind of a person Melody was; judging from the various titles of her textbooks she was a science major with the exception of two books: _History of Jazz _and_ Folk Music to Symphonies: A Look at 18th Century Composers._

"I guess she really did have an interest in music," Elliot mumbled and continued his search. He rummaged through a pile of papers finding one that would actually help them. "I've got her schedule here. We'll talk to all the teachers she had on Wednesday, see if anything seemed off."

"Elliot," Liv called, her voice shaky, "you need to see this."

Elliot moved behind his partner and looked down at a large, black book she held. "What is it?"

"Scrapbook," she said before she opened it. All of the pictures within the book were of a single person, most taken from far away, a few of them blurry but you could still tell who the boy in the pictures were. "Elliot that's-"

"Nate," Elliot breathed and stared down at the pictures as he felt his heart drop.

* * *

Maureen waved to a friend as she and Nate climbed the steps to her room. "I can't believe Dr. Reynolds would assign us a five-page paper on a Friday!" 

"Tell me about it," Nate laughed. "I don't really care about Russia's role in Napoleon's downfall."

Maureen chuckled as she turned the corner to her wing, but was efficiently blocked. "Dad? Olivia? What are you guys doing here?"

Elliot looked to his partner before answering, "Maybe we should talk about this somewhere more private."

"We can go to my room if-"

"I'm thinking down at the precinct," Elliot interrupted. He looked to Nate, "Do you have a car on campus?"

"Yeah," the younger man answered quietly, obviously confused with the whole situation.

"You can follow us then," Elliot said, "Maureen knows the way." Without waiting for another word he walked passed the two young adults and headed for the door, Olivia right alongside him.

"What are you going to do?" she asked once they were in the safety of their vehicle. 

Elliot gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. "I'm not too sure," he answered with a sigh, "I hate to do this, but it's my job."

"I know El," she replied, "it's my job too."

"It's just that…I try to hard to keep my job away from my family, but it never seems to work," he spoke as she slowly pulled onto the busy road.

"You can't protect your kids forever, someday they're going to be out in the real world and they're not going to have their father looking out for them."

"I know that," he started, "but it kills me."

Not knowing what to say Olivia merely reached over and took his hand in her own and gently squeezed it. Elliot tore his eyes away from the road and stared at his partner; there was a certain assurance and tenderness in those chocolate eyes that could make him forget about everything in the world except this woman. He wouldn't admit it, but Elliot knew he was in love with Olivia and had been for a long time. In the beginning, just being near her was enough to satisfy his feelings but lately he found himself staring at her, watching her every move, and longing to touch her. He knew he couldn't act on the feelings, it was against every rule, but that didn't mean he couldn't fantasize about it.

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Interrogation Room  
SVU Squadroom**

"What is all this about Detective?" Nate asked. He was very uncomfortable sitting in the interrogation room being sweated by one of New York's finest, not to mention his girlfriend's father. Nate had never had a good record with meeting parents, he always seemed to say something stupid and foolish, and this was the cherry on the sundae so to speak. 

"Nate, do you know Melody Banks?" Elliot asked. He was trying to stay objective while still trying to get a reading off of the boy.

"I don't think so," Nate answered in a shaky voice. Elliot opened a manila envelope and slid a picture of Melody across the table. Nate took the picture and studied it momentarily before answering, "I've seen her around campus and in Maureen's dorm, but I can't say that I know her."

"She's never talked to you before?" Elliot asked skeptically.

"Like I said, we may have exchanged 'hellos' in the hallway but that's it," Nate answered. "What is all this about?"

A tap on the glass stopped Elliot's next question; he excused himself before walking out the door. In the observation room Cragen, Olivia, and Huang were watching the interview with interest.

"What's up?" Elliot asked.

"Maureen's asking for you," Olivia informed him. "She wants to know what's going on."

Elliot ran a hand through his short hair and down over her face as if to strip away the stress and exhaustion. "Where is she?"

"She's out there talking to Munch," Olivia smiled. "I think he's trying to convince her on one of his latest theories."

Elliot smiled slightly before turning and leaving the room. Out in the bull pen he found Maureen sitting in his chair while Munch sat perched on the corner of his desk rambling about some government conspiracy or another. Maureen's eyes lit up when she noticed her father standing beside her.

"Dad," she said pulling him away from his desk to a more secluded area, "what's going on? What are you doing to Nate in there?"

"We're just asking him a few questions honey," Elliot said.

"What for? He's not a suspect is he?" Maureen asked.

"No, but we have a few questions we need to ask him," he answered trying not to tell anything that would later get him into trouble. He knew there was a fine line when it came to discussing evidence with civilians and he wasn't about to get his ass grilled by the Brass.

"Dad, I get that you can't tell me all the details, but please tell me that Nate isn't a suspect," Maureen pleaded.

"We don't have any suspects so far," Elliot retorted. "That's why we need your help, yours and Nate's. It's going to make this case a lot easier once we have some information to go on." Seeing Olivia enter the bull pen, he excused himself and made his way to her. "What did you get out of him?"

"Same thing he told you, doesn't know her other than a few stray greetings around campus," she said. "And I believe him."

Elliot nodded slowly; whether or not he would admit it out loud he believed the boy too. "Did you show him the pictures?"

"Yeah and he seemed genuinely disturbed by them," she answered. "I don't think this is going to get us anywhere."

"My thoughts exactly," he sighed. "Let's send them home and tomorrow we'll go back to campus to interview the kid in her Chem class."

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** **As always, read and review maked me a happy, happy writer!**


	4. Meetings

**I Know This One  
Chapter 4: Meetings**

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**Hudson University**

"How do we even know this kid is on campus?" Olivia asked before stepping out of the car and into the late September sun. For an early fall afternoon, the weather was surprisingly warm and Olivia was taking full advantage of the situation, surrendering her usual dress pants and blouse for a pair of boot cut, comfortable jeans and a lavender tank top.

"I checked with the registrar's office," Elliot answered sliding his sunglasses into place, "Brian is from Tennessee. I doubt he'd be going home every weekend."

"So where do we look for him?"

"We'll try his room first," Elliot suggested. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and read the address. "We're going to Himmel Hall room 418."

"Let's go."

* * *

"Brian's not here." 

"Any idea where we can find him?" Elliot asked. He was quickly becoming annoyed with the young man's attitude and the overtly loud music playing in the background.

"Try the Science and Engineering Building," the roommate answered. "Kid's a real science geek." Before waiting for an answer from the detectives the young man slammed the door and returned to his bed.

"Thank you very much for your time," Elliot muttered. He turned around seeing Olivia leaning against the opposite wall with a smirk on her face. "What?" he asked.

"That went well," she laughed. The two began back down the hallway passing a pair of students coming the other way.

The students grinned at each other before one reached over and smacked Olivia's backside. "Come visit my room sometime honey?" he said with a leer.

Before Olivia could react, Elliot turned and pinned the boy against the wall his lower arm pressing into the kid's neck.

"What the hell-" he began before Elliot cut him off.

"You know that assaulting a police officer is a serious offense right?" he asked through clenched teeth. "I could haul your ass downtown for that little stunt."

"Whoa I didn't know she was a cop," he defended himself.

"Cop or not that's no way to treat a lady," Elliot sneered. "Apologize…NOW!"

"S-sorry," the kid said. As soon as Elliot loosened his grip the kid took off down the hall and rounded the corner.

"Punk," Elliot mumbled watching the pair disappear. He turned to find Olivia standing with her hands on her hips in the stance that Elliot knew meant trouble. "What?"

"What the hell was that?" Olivia demanded.

"What? I was protecting--"

"I don't need you to protect me Elliot," she interrupted. "I'm a big girl I can take care of myself."

"I'm sorry Liv, it's a reaction," he explained. "With three daughters it just becomes second nature."

"I'm not one of your daughters, El. I'm your partner and I expect to be treated like it," she stormed off.

'How did I just screw that up?' he thought before following the retreating form of his very pissed off partner. "Liv wait up!"

Olivia stopped in her tracks and waited for Elliot to come up beside her. "Look," she started not looking at him, "just forget about it. Sorry I flipped back there, let's just find this kid." Elliot nodded his approval, making a mental note to ask his partner about her personal life later.

* * *

**Science and Engineering Building  
****Hudson University**

"Excuse me, do you know where we can find a Brian Beckner?" Olivia asked.

The woman at the front desk looked up from her computer and sized Olivia up. Deciding that she was worth the time, she flipped through a few pages in the binder next to her. "He's signed in to laboratory six, down the hall, second door from the end on your right."

"Thank you," Olivia added sweetly before heading off in the direction she was given. "So how do we want to play this?"

"Well from what Maureen told me he's not exactly a lady's man so why don't you let me do the questioning?" Elliot suggested.

"You got it."

As the partners entered the room, the distinct smell of sulfur invaded their senses causing both of them to cough slightly, drawing the attention of the young man perched over one of the many black lab tables.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"You Brian?" Elliot asked trying to regain his composure.

"That's me," he said, quickly adding, "who the hell are you?"

"NYPD," he said flashing his badge knowing that Olivia was doing the same behind him. "We need to ask you a few questions. Where were you Wednesday night?"

"Here till about 9, then back to my room," Brian answered.

"Can anyone vouch as to your whereabouts?"

"This place was pretty deserted, not really the coolest hangout on campus."

"What about your roommate?" Elliot asked. He wasn't sure what it was about this kid but something just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Mark?" Brian laughed before turning back to his work. "He was out partying, didn't get back till 3."

"On a Wednesday night? Who goes to a party in the middle of the week?"

"Believe me," Brian laughed, "Mark doesn't need a reason to party. I put in for a roommate transfer but nothing has come yet." An uncomfortable silence fell in the room, the only sound in the large room was the hum of a Bunsen burner. "Do you mind telling me what this is all about?"

"Melody Banks was murdered Wednesday night," Elliot said waiting for the younger man's reaction.

"Yeah I heard about that," Brian said. "It's terrible, she was a sweet girl, kinda quiet."

His voice held no emotion what so ever but Elliot noticed that Brian never looked him straight in the eyes once Melody's name had been brought up. "So you knew her?"

"She was in my Chemistry class," Brian answered, "can't say I knew her though."

Elliot nodded, "Thank you for your time."

"No problem."

Once outside the laboratory's doors Olivia, who had been silently observing the whole interview, turned to her partner and asked, "You buy it?"

"Oh absolutely not," Elliot sighed. "Let's check his alibi."

"I'll get Munch on it," Olivia said. A smile graced her face as she stepped out of the building and into the warm sunshine. Sliding her sunglasses back into place, she flipped her cell open and dialed Munch's number.

* * *

**Apartment of Olivia Benson**

_'What happened to all the sitcoms?' _Olivia thought as she sat staring at the television across from her._ 'It's all reality TV and cop dramas. I get enough of that in my actual life, I don't need it from TV too.'_The sound of the buzzer caused her jump wondering who would be at her door at this hour. Reluctantly she climbed off the couch and over to the wall, pushing the button and answering, "Who is it?"

Olivia thought as she sat staring at the television across from her. The sound of the buzzer caused her jump wondering who would be at her door at this hour. Reluctantly she climbed off the couch and over to the wall, pushing the button and answering, "Who is it?" 

"Olivia? It's Maureen, can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Liv answered a bit bewildered, "come on up." She pressed the button to unlock the door and waited for Maureen's knock on her front door. It wasn't but two minutes before her partner's eldest daughter was standing in her living room. "Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate sounds wonderful," Maureen smiled. She took a seat on Olivia's couch and waited for the older woman to return with two mugs full of steaming liquid. Maureen took a sip gingerly, careful not to burn her tongue, and was surprised by the flavor. "Wow this is good. What do you put in it?"

"Cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg," Olivia answered taking a sip from her own mug before setting it on the coffee table in front of her. "But let's be honest here Maureen, you didn't come all the way here for my recipes."

Maureen smiled before setting her mug beside Olivia's, "No I didn't, but you said I could talk to you anytime-"

"And I meant it," Olivia wanted to make her feel welcome, because she knew it would make it easier for Maureen to confide in her. "So what's on your mind?"

"Nate," Maureen said simply.

"Oh," Olivia thought of the best way to approach the subject. "If you're looking for relationship advice I may not be the best person to talk to. As you may have noticed I spend my nights on my couch drinking hot chocolate and watching old reruns of _Bewitched_."

"Doesn't sound like that bad of a life," Maureen laughed. "But what I want to know is something you can help me with." The young woman fought for the right words to introduce her thoughts, "I want to know why you and dad needed to question Nate. I mean he barely even knew Mel."

Olivia paused, she knew she shouldn't tell Maureen about the pictures, knew that Elliot would kill her if she did. But Maureen was a big girl and she deserved to know what was happening to the people she loved. "Maureen, when your father and I were searching through the vict-Melody's room we found a stash of pictures she kept in her dresser."

Maureen searched Olivia's face for any hint as to where the conversation was leading, but of course she was in cop mode just like her father had done the day he told her about Mel. "But what does that have to do with Nate?"

"All the pictures were of him," Olivia sighed. She decided not to wait for the younger girl's response before continuing, "Apparently she had been stalking him for quite some time."

Silence engulfed the room as Maureen sat there and stared at Olivia as if she had grown another head. Blue eyes bore into brown as the staring match continued. "Are you serious? You've got to be kidding, I mean that's just crazy talk," Maureen laughed. She jumped up from the couch and began to pace between the couch and the chair that Olivia sat on.

"Maureen--"

"No, this is nuts," the girl laughed, sounding a bit more like a choked sob. "This can't be happening, not to him. He's not supposed to get involved in this kind of thing, he's not…" The sentence trailed off as Maureen halted her pacing and wrapped her arms around herself; a single tear rolled down her cheek which she promptly wiped away.

Not knowing what else to do, Olivia stood up and approached the girl wrapping her arms around her. She had expected the girl to pull away, but surprisingly Maureen leaned into the embrace and let her tears fall freely.

"Shh, it's going to be okay," Liv soothed her sobs.

"This isn't how it's supposed to happen," she choked out.

"How what is supposed to happen honey?" Liv asked.

"This. Life," Maureen pulled back and resumed her seat on the couch, picking up her mug and taking another sip to calm herself. "I really thought we had something special. We talked about marriage, nothing serious, but…I don't know…I really like him. I could see myself spending the rest of my life with him." She suddenly had no idea why she was sharing this information with her father's partner, but Maureen had no one else to turn to. She hadn't been close to her mother since the divorce, and there was no way in hell she was going to talk to her father about her boyfriend problems.

A long silence filled the room, during which each party contemplated their situation. Olivia had never been and expert on relationships, most of her own ended within months of their beginnings, but she really wanted to help Maureen. She couldn't very well tell her to run away and get married, that would be like signing her own death certificate.

"Maureen, I don't know how I can help you but," she paused momentarily choosing her words carefully, "I'll always be here if you need to talk." _'That was a lame answer,'_ she chided herself. _'This girl opens up to you and all you can say is I'm here?'_

"Thank you," Maureen whispered before gathering her discarded jacket and slipping it on. She walked over to Olivia and gave her a hug kissing her softly on the cheek before heading for the door. She stopped before leaving and turned back, "Hey Liv?"

"Yeah?"

"You won't tell my dad about any of this will you?" she asked nervously. It wasn't that she didn't trust her father, but she just wasn't sure how he would handle it.

"Don't worry," Liv smiled, "this is just between us girls."

* * *

**Okay there you have it. You know how this relationship works: you read, you review, I write more, you read, and so on. Don't break the chain!**


	5. Trust

I Know This One  
Chapter 5--Trust

* * *

SVU Squad Room

"Where do we stand on the Banks case?" Cragen questioned the three detectives that were gathered around their desks sipping coffee and chatting about their personal lives.

"Elliot and I will be heading back to campus to speak with Brian," Olivia said.

"Didn't you do that yesterday?" Fin asked, voicing Cragen's thoughts.

"We did, but his alibi is full of holes," she added. "Besides something about that kid didn't sit right with me. He's definitely hiding something."

"Where is Elliot anyway?" Cragen asked calling on the absence of his fourth detective.

Olivia glanced down at her watch before answering, "He's still got a few minutes, probably stopped for coffee on his way here." The group dispersed, setting to their own individual tasks, Olivia taking a seat at her desk and reviewing the case files. She was onto the second page before she noticed her partner storm through the doors and trudge over to his locker.

"Someone is in a good mood this morning," Munch muttered from his desk earning a glare from Elliot that caused his mouth to shut immediately.

"Don't bother taking your jacket off," Olivia rose from her desk chair and grabbed her jacket, "we're heading back over to campus."

"Fine," Elliot grimaced. He grabbed the keys out of his pocket and headed out the door without waiting for his partner. Olivia shared a concerned look with their captain before following suit.

"He didn't even have coffee," Munch said.

"Oh this can't be good," Fin added.

An uncomfortable silence filled the car, Olivia stared straight out the windshield and Elliot's eyes never ventured from the road ahead of him. The tension could be sliced through with a butter knife.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or do I have to guess?" Olivia finally asked with a teasing voice. She was trying desperately to lighten the mood, but from the look on her partner's face it wasn't working. Elliot looked at her with his candid 'I don't want to talk about it' face, but she wasn't letting him off that easily. As the car pulled onto the Hudson University campus, Olivia unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to look at Elliot. "C'mon El you need to tell someone."

"I think you already know what my problem is," he growled, opening his door and stepping out. Not bothering to wait for Olivia, he began his trek across the grassy area that separated the parking lot from the mass of buildings that housed the numerous classrooms.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Olivia asked, her voice raising slightly with the level of her anger. She sprinted a few steps until she was even with him and gracefully fell into step with her partner, "If you have a problem with something I did or said, please tell me Elliot."

Without warning Elliot stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Olivia his normally flaccid eyes burning in anger, "How could you tell her? I worked so hard to keep my job away from my family and you screwed that up!"

Olivia was taken back. Sure she and Elliot had gotten into fights before but he had never seemed so angry, and never in a public place. She took a step backwards before answering, "And exactly how did I do that?"

"You told Maureen," he seethed. "You told her about the pictures, you let her into my world!"

"What was I supposed to do Elliot? She came to my apartment last night looking for answers that she couldn't get from you," she spat out. Noticing the stray looks they were drawing from passing students and faculty, Olivia looked at her partner with hard determination. "Let's just go talk to this kid, and we can finish this conversation later."

* * *

**Himmel Hall  
Hudson University**

Elliot pounded angrily on the thick wooden door causing the sound to resonate through the relatively quiet hallway. Slowly the door opened and Brian poked his head out, "Oh detectives, can I help you?"

"Yes we'd like to have a word with you," Olivia said quickly not wanting to give Elliot the chance to say something he would later regret. She waited for Brian to open the door and invite them into his room before speaking, "Brian we just have a few questions about your relationship with Melody Banks."

"I already told you I didn't know her that well," the young man added defensively.

"Yeah that is what you told us," Elliot sneered, "but we've also heard that you were very close with her."

Brian seemed confused, but Olivia knew exactly what Elliot was doing; he was hoping that the presence of a fake witness would get the boy to confess to something he'd been hiding. And judging by the flushed look that was slowly appearing in Brian's cheeks, it was working.

"This is going to be much easier on you, if you're straight with us," Olivia said in a soothing voice. She knew if she could get him to feel comfortable he'd be more likely to talk, so she slipped out of detective mode and into what she liked to call "Sensitive Friend" mode.

"Melody and I didn't have a relationship," Brian said, "but it wasn't for lack of trying on my part."

"So you pursued her?" Elliot asked from the corner of the room. While he stilled looked angry, Olivia could see that his muscles were beginning to relax and his hands were no longer clenched into fists.

"I asked her out a few times, she always said no. I finally stopped trying."

"Maybe she was just too busy with her work for a relationship," Olivia suggested. She knew it was a lie; Melody had refused Brian because she was in love with Nate. She knew that by playing dumb it would give the suspect a sense of superiority and make them more likely to share their knowledge.

"It wasn't school, it was because of that damn kid!" Brian seethed. He began pacing the small area in the center of the room like a caged tiger.

"What kid?"

"That Nathan Grainer kid," he said. "She was always staring at him across the quad, making googly eyes at him. Made me sick."

"Did they have a relationship?" Olivia asked.

"No Nate's shacked up with some sophomore in Mel's hall," Brian said, his voice thick with disgust. "Mel was pissed that they were together. I heard her talking to her roommate about how loud they were one night and how she wanted to break down the door."

Before Olivia could act, Elliot grabbed Brian by the back of his shirt and slammed him onto the nearest bed pressing his knee into his back.

"Elliot!"

"Listen to me you little prick," he sneered, "that's my little girl you're talking about so how about showing some respect. Or I could always haul your ass downtown to spend a the night in the lock-ups."

"Elliot," she said sternly with her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, their eyes locking, before he slowly pulled himself off the boy and walked out the door.

"That's police brutality," Brian shouted rubbing his neck.

"I didn't see anything," Olivia said simply before leaving the room. She scanned the hall for her partner but could not find him. "Elliot?" she called as she stepped out of the building and into the afternoon sun. She glanced from side to side and finally spotted him leaning against the nearby railing, wringing his hands. She approached cautiously, as one might approach a dangerous animal, and strategize a plan in her head; Olivia decided it was best to play the part of the partner rather than the concerned friend.

"What the hell happened?" she asked with a slight hint of professionalism to her voice. She knew if she tried to get to the root of the problem he would only accuse her of trying to "shrink" him and storm off.

"I lost control," he growled. "What the hell was I supposed to do? He was talking about Maureen!"

"I know Elliot," she said, "but if he reports you, IAB is going to have your badge."

"I know," he breathed. He dragged his hands over his face as if to wipe away the stress of the day. "Let's get back to the house."

* * *

**Olivia's Apartment**

Olivia flipped on her living room light swearing at the incessant ringing that filled the previously silent room. _'I swear if that guy in 3B locked himself out again I'm going to break his fingers!' _she thought bitterly. Pressing the small button on the speaker near the door Olivia cleared her throat and answered, "Yeah?"

"Liv? It's Elliot."

His voice startled her but she pressed the button to unlock the front door and waited for the soft rapping against her own door. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he breezed past her and started pacing her living room.

"I couldn't sleep," he said still facing away from her.

"So you decided that I shouldn't either?"

"Were you?" he asked, know the answer.

Olivia let out a frustrated sigh, "Not really." She moved across the room and took a seat on the couch, waiting for Elliot to join her. He settled next to her, burying his face in his hands. "I know this is killing you."

"You don't know the half of it," he said through his fingers.

"Then tell me," she pleaded. "El if you keep everything bottled up inside it's gonna break sometime and you're not going to be able to control yourself. You know what Huang says-"

"Huang's a shrink. I don't trust shrinks."

"Shrink or not he's still your friend," Olivia added. Taking his hands in her own, she lowered them till his palms rested on his knees and stared into his sapphire eyes. "I hate to see you like this."

"I'm sorry," he blurted.

"Sorry for what?"

"For yelling at you on campus. I was just so frustrated with the whole case and Maureen's involvement in it," he sighed and turned his head to look at her. Her brown eyes met his own with a soft understanding that only they knew.

"I'm sorry I told her about the pictures," Liv said venturing to take his hand in her own and hold it, gently rubbing her thumb over the back. "But when she came to me, I felt like she needed to know something. I've never had anyone trust me like she did, I mean she told me things that she couldn't tell you or Kathy."

Elliot's head shot up, "Like what?"

Olivia laughed and leaned into his side, "Nothing you need to know. Just girl stuff."

"It was about Nate wasn't it?"

"Can't tell you," she sang as she jumped up off the couch and made her way to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water for her and Elliot, but when she closed the door and turned around he was standing right behind her, dangerously close. "Geez Elliot, don't do that to me!"

"What did she tell you?" he asked with a stern tone but a small smile that conveyed that he wasn't as serious as might appear.

"I said I can't tell you," she laughed. She tried to sneak passed him but he effectively blocked her path on both sides, planting his hands firmly against the refrigerator on either side of her head. "Are you trying to intimidate me?" she asked in a low voice.

The tension between their bodies was palpable, and growing as the distance between them closed. Olivia felt his hands fall slowly until they rested against the refrigerator door just beside her hips. She felt her body flush as he brought his face closer to hers and whispered, "Is it working?" Before she could answer his lips had locked onto hers, his hands finally coming to rest on the gentle curves of his hips. It was only seconds but it felt like an eternity before they broke, eyes locking onto each others searching for an explanation.

"What was that?" she asked a little breathless.

"Not sure," Elliot answered. "But can I do it again?"

Olivia nodded before crashing her lips to his own, deciding it was easier to leave explanations for later.


	6. Attacked

**I Know This One  
Chapter 6--Attack  
A/N: Okay I know I haven't updated since…forever, but something terrible happened. It's called college. The workload has been crazy, I got a new roommate, and life has been all together hectic. But I did manage to write another chapter between classes and studying and working and studying. Enjoy!**

**

* * *

Special Victims Unit Squadroom  
16 Precinct**

Olivia walked into the precinct the next day with a look of worry on her face. She hadn't slept well the night before because she kept replaying that moment in her kitchen over and over again. _'How could I have been so stupid? This is going to screw everything up! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'_ While she was mentally beating herself up, she hadn't heard Cragen calling her name numerous times.

"Olivia!" he finally yelled causing his three other detectives to turn and stare.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"Can I see you in my office please?" Cragen asked with a not-so-happy tone. He turned on his heel and trudged back to his office, knowing that Olivia was not far behind. "Close the door," he said once they were both inside. "Now, are you gonna tell me what's wrong with you?"

_'I spent the night having crazy sex with my partner while we were supposed to be working on a case,' _she wanted to scream but she didn't want to give Cragen a heat attack. "It's nothing," she lied. "Just didn't get too much sleep." _'That's not completely a lie.'_

"Look if it's something about the case, you know you can always call me," he offered with a fatherly smile. "Or Munch or Fin or your partner. Hell, call Casey if you have to."

Olivia laughed, "I don't think she'd appreciate me calling her at three in the morning. Casey doesn't strike me as a morning person."

The captain joined her in a laugh, "Yea me either." Then he turned to Olivia a bit more serious, "But you need to deal with this. I can't have you working the street in a daze."

"I know," Olivia sighed. "I promise it's just this once. I'm fine…really." Cragen nodded and she quickly excused herself from his office.

"Got something for you," Elliot shouted as he hung up the telephone._'_

_I bet you do,' _she thought and then mentally scolded herself for having such thoughts at work._ "What's that?"_

"I just checked with the faculty that runs the chemistry labs at Hudson. She said that the labs are open until 10 p.m. on weeknights but the only ones there other than students are the cleaning staff. It's be pretty easy to sign yourself into a lab until nine, but leave before that."

"We need to find something that tells us he wasn't at that lab," she said snapping into detective mode.

"Elliot, Olivia," Cragen called as he came out of his office. "Warner just called. Said she needs you down at the morgue."

**----------**

**Medical Examiner's Office**

"What d'ya got for us doc?" Elliot called as he and Olivia stepped into the sterile smelling room.

"Well I've got your cause of death on your Banks case," she said holding out a manila folder to the detectives. "She was poisoned."

"That would explain why there were no marks on the neck," Olivia said eyeing the file.

"And none of the other marks were deep enough to cause her to bleed out," Melinda added. "I found traces of nearly ten different chemicals in her bloodstream. The sheer mixture of these chemicals was enough to kill her."

"What kind of chemicals are we talking about?" Elliot asked as he took the folder from Liv and looked over the report. Melinda rattled off the names of several chemicals, all of which sounded German to Elliot.

"Who would have access to these chemicals?" Olivia asked.

"They're commonplace in most laboratories, so students, teachers, cleaning staff," Melinda said before noticing the shared look between the detectives. "You got someone in mind?"

"Yeah," Elliot said handing the file back to the doctor. "A mouthy little chemistry major."

**--------**

**Special Victims Unit Squadroom  
16 Precinct**

"Are we still hooked on this Brian kid?" Cragen asked. All four detectives including the captain and Casey were gathered around the evidence board listening to the newest details of he case.

"Well we know he had a motive," Olivia explained. "He admitted to pursuing a relationship with the vic, which she said 'no' to more than once. He was also angry about Melody's obsession with Nathan."

Elliot took a deep breath, trying to control his emotions at the mention of his eldest daughter's boyfriend. "We also have a connection with the cause of death. M.E. said she was poisoned with chemicals that can be found in the University labs."

"But they can also be found at any high school chemistry lab in the city, plus it's possible for anyone to get their hands on that stuff," Casey pointed out. "It's circumstantial at best. Not enough for a warrant."

"But no one else had the connection," Olivia pointed out. "You should have heard the way he talked about her. Like she had really pissed him off."

"Bring him in for questioning," Casey said gathering her things. "But until you get something a little more concrete, we can't touch him."

**------**

**Special Victims Unit  
Interrogation Room**

"I don't want that guy questioning me!" Brian yelled as Munch led him past Elliot and Olivia's desks. "I still have you on police brutality!"

"What is he talking about?" Cragen asked.

"No idea," Olivia said squarely eyeing her partner. Their eyes met and Elliot mouthed a 'Thank You' to which Olivia just smiled. "I'll question him."

"So Brian," Olivia said as she took a seat across the table from him. "Why don't you run me through what you were doing the night that Melody was killed."

"I already told you," he said with disgust.

"I know but run it by me again."

"I was working in the lab until 9, then I stopped by the Student Union for some food and then back to my room."

Olivia nodded and thought for a moment. "Well you see the problem with your story is, there's no one to alibi you for the time you spent in the lab."

"I signed in at six and signed out at nine," Brian offered.

"But who's to say that you didn't sign in at six, leave at seven but write down nine?" Olivia asked with a quizzical tone. "So you see the problem."

"Look I don't know what you're thinking but I was there all night!" he shouted jumping up from his chair and slamming his fists down angrily. "And unless you have something else, I think I'll be heading home now."

Olivia said nothing but watched him leave the interrogation room, following him out. "He's got nothing to hide," she said sarcastically to Elliot and Cragen who were watching from the observation room.

"We need a witness," Elliot sighed. "We need someone that can place him in or around the crime scene."

A knock on the door interrupted the meeting and Fin stuck his head in the door. "Elliot, your daughter's on the phone. She sounds upset."

Elliot excused himself and charged to his desk to pick up his line. "Maureen?"

"Daddy! Daddy you've got to help him," she said close to hysterics.

"Help who sweetie?"

"Nate," she said on the verge of tears. "He was attacked."

Elliot felt his stomach hit the floor as his daughter's words floated through the line into his ears. He'd tried so hard to keep the things he saw everyday from affecting his family; he'd tried to keep them separate. But it always seemed like no matter how hard he'd tried it was never enough. "Where are you Maureen?"

"We're at Mercy General," she explained, her voice cracking with emotion.

"Listen to me sweetie," Elliot tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. "We'll be there as soon as we can. I need you to stay calm Maureen."

"I'll try Dad," she took a deep breath before continuing, "Please hurry."

"I promise we'll be there soon." As much as he didn't want to hang up on her he knew if he was ever going to get out of the station house he would have to. As soon as the receiver hit the base he was swinging his jacket onto his shoulders, digging in the pockets for the keys to the sedan.

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked. The look on Elliot's face told her he was deeply worried about something.

"Mercy General," he said pulling the keys out of his left pocket.

"What happened?" Liv asked shrugging her coat on and falling into step next to him as the pair made their way to the elevator.

"Nate was attacked. Maureen's at the hospital with him."

"Oh my God, is he okay?"

"I don't know," Elliot sighed.

The wheels of Olivia's mind were beginning to spin, causing all kinds of thoughts and theories to run through her brain. "Do you think this was related to Melody in anyway?" she asked suddenly.

Elliot stopped and looked at her. He really hadn't thought about it, but it was possible there was a connection. "I guess we'll find out."

**

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Don't forget to feed me reviews. They really help the writing process go a lot quicker and easier.**


	7. Another Player

**Chapter 7--Another Player**  
A/N: Okay I know some of you were confused about whether Elliot and Olivia slept together and the answer is yes. Why? I'm not really too sure, but that's what I decided to make happen.And now, enjoy...

* * *

The sedan was barely in park before Elliot leaped from the driver's side and took off toward the sliding glass doors. Olivia quickly turned off the ignition, which her partner had forgotten to do in his hurry, stuffed the keys into her pocket and followed suite. They took the elevator to the third floor trauma wing in silence. It was an all too familiar trip for the pair; one they had made more times than either could remember. But this time was different, this time it was personal.

As the heavy doors slid open Elliot saw his eldest daughter pacing the area in front of the nurses' station like a caged animal, chewing on her fingernails nervously. She stopped her pacing when she noticed her dad approaching.

"Dad!" Maureen cried as she flung herself into his arms. "They won't tell me anything. They said they can't tell me because I'm not family."

"Shh, it's okay sweetie," Elliot tried to calm her down. He walked them both towards a row of plastic chairs and sat Maureen down in one, quickly taking place next to her. "Can you tell me what happened?"

As Maureen recounted the days events, Olivia approached the nurses' station. Flashing her badge to the middle-aged woman behind the counter she said, "My name is Detective Benson. I need information on a Nathan Grainer please."

The nurse studied Olivia before retrieving a file from her desk. "Admitted with minor bruising on the face, a cracked rib, and a four inch gash across his forehead," she read without feeling.

"Who's the doctor?" Olivia asked.

"Dr. Nash is the attending physician tonight."

"Thank you," Olivia said before returning to Elliot. "Where's Maureen?" she asked upon noticing the girl's absence.

"I told her to go get a cup of coffee, that it would calm her nerves," he said taking a seat on one of the plastic chairs and motioning for Olivia to take the one next to him. "What did you find out?"

"He was admitted with a few bruises, a cracked rib and a nasty cut on his forehead," Olivia recited while rubbing her neck absentmindedly.

Without thinking Elliot reached his left hand around her shoulders and began to knead the muscles of her neck. Olivia felt her hand drop to her lap as her head rolled forward. It was a simple act of friendship but Olivia couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks or the heated feeling that enveloped her flesh.

"Liv you know we're going to have to talk about it sometime," Elliot whispered.

"I know," she whispered back.

"Dad?"

Both Elliot and Olivia's heads snapped up like children caught sneaking a cookie before dinnertime. Maureen stood just a few feet from them holding a tray with three steaming cups of coffee.

"I thought you guys could use some too," she said gesturing to the cups. Her eyes were still rimmed in red from the mass amounts of crying she had been doing. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that hung just past her shoulders.

"Thanks Maureen," Olivia said taking one of the cups and giving the younger woman's shoulder a friendly squeeze.

"Did you find out anything else about Nate?" Maureen asked hopefully.

"He was admitted with some bruises and a cracked rib," Elliot explained. He glanced over his daughter's shoulder at Olivia who was sipping her coffee and eyeing him expectantly. "And quite a gash across his forehead."

She shook her slowly as if digesting the information. "But how is he doing?"

"We don't know yet," Elliot sighed. "We're still waiting for the doctor to come out."

"Well can't you go in there?" Maureen asked. "I mean you're the police for God's sake! Can't you just bust in the door?" Her voice began to shake just before the tears began to slide down her cheek. Elliot handed his steaming cup of coffee to Olivia who gladly accepted it before wrapping his arms around his daughter's shoulders letting her cry into his shoulder.

Olivia watched the scene with a sense of longing. She had never had a father to comfort her when she cried and her mother…well she wasn't the greatest. Olivia always felt that she was robbed of a real childhood; she'd had to grow up way too fast. As she stared at Elliot and Maureen she realized just how much she wanted a life like that.

"Detectives?" a low voice called from the emergency room doors.

"I'll take care of it," Olivia whispered to Elliot as she passed the two. "I'm detective Benson," she introduced herself to the man in the long white coat.

"Dr. William Nash," he replied with a friendly nod.

"How's he doing?"

"Well the laceration on his head wasn't deep enough to need stitches," the doctor reported as the pair made their way to the nurses' station. "I've wrapped his ribs and gave him some pain medication."

"Did he say what happened?" Olivia asked.

"He mumbled something about being attacked from behind. I'd say the fracture was caused by someone kicking him in the abdomen a few times."

Olivia winced at the mental picture that was conjured into her mind. She dealt with assaults and rapes all day long for the last seven years but she couldn't get past the pain that these people had suffered. The victims had done nothing wrong yet for some reason they were made to suffer. "Is he awake?"

"Yes he is," Dr. Nash responded before scribbling what Olivia presumed to be his name to a file and handing it to the nurse. "But I should warn you that the pain medicine will be kicking in soon, so he may not be very coherent."

Olivia nodded in understanding before asking, "Is it okay if he has visitors?"

The doctor followed Olivia's gaze to where Maureen and Elliot now sat, no longer embracing but with Maureen leaning against her father's shoulder with her knees pulled up to her chest. "Just don't stay in there too long," Dr. Nash said with a friendly smile.

"Thank you," Olivia said. She shook the doctor's hand before making her way over to where Elliot and Maureen sat.

"So what's up?" Elliot asked as his partner approached.

"Well he's all stitched up but he's not very coherent," she reported.

"Can I see him?" Maureen asked with a weak voice.

"Sure." Olivia led Maureen to the door to Nate's room but paused before letting her in. "He's gonna look a little different Maureen," she whispered. "He's gonna look a lot worse than he really is."

"I know," the younger woman swallowed the lump in her throat before she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Olivia stood looking through the clear glass window and Maureen approached the bed and began to talk. She could tell by his movements that Nathan was awake and talking to Maureen, but she wasn't sure how long it would last. She was so caught up in the moment before her that she didn't notice her partner's presence beside her until he spoke.

"We should get his statement," he said softly before attempting to push open the door.

"This isn't our case," Olivia told him. She laid her hand on his arm to stop him, causing him to turn and stare down at her.

"What do you mean this isn't our case?"

"He wasn't sexually assaulted," Olivia explained, her eyes never straying from Nate's room. "This has nothing to do with us. We really have no right to be here."

Elliot understood what she was saying. This wasn't their jurisdiction and they had already overstepped the boundaries by interviewing the doctor. He knew Olivia had done so for Maureen and he could never thank her enough for it. Reaching down, Elliot took hold of Olivia's hand and gently squeezed it in his own. He expected her to shy away from such a public display, but to his amazement she squeezed back.

"You do realize however," she continued as if nothing more were happening, "that if Nate's attack is related to the Banks' case, then that means--"

"We're looking for another player in all of this."

* * *

**Thank you very much and don't forget to review!**


	8. Daughter's Intuition

**I Know This One  
Chapter 8--A Daughter's Intuition**

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* * *

**

**SVU Squadroom  
16th Precinct**

"So we're saying that Melody Banks's killer had an accomplice?" Cragen asked.

"We know Nathan Grainer was attacked while Brian was still in interrogation," Olivia explained. "So either the two events are completely unrelated or Brian has a friend working with him."

"What are the odds that there is no connection between the two?" Munch asked from his desk.

Elliot removed the pen from his mouth where he was busy chewing it into submission. "I'm not buying that. You got three million people in this city, what are the odds that Nate would be attacked randomly while we're investigating the murder of a girl that was obsessed with him?" (A/N: I have no idea how many people live in NYC but I figured it was a good estimate)

"If Brian was so in love with Melody, he would have done just about anything to get rid of Nate," Fin chimed in. "Gotta eliminate the competition."

"Looks like we need to do a little research into Brian's life then," Cragen concluded. "Find out who he talks to, who he hangs out with, anything you learn, I wanna know about it."

------------

Hudson University  
Blakeman Lodge

Elliot banged his fist on the heavy wooden door once again yielding no response.

"Maybe he's not home," Liv sighed.

"Then I'm gonna bang on this door until he comes home," Elliot answered. He continued to knock until the door flew open revealing a quite disheveled looking college student. "Are you Gregory Myers?"

"Who wants to know?" the boy asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"NYPD," Olivia said flashing her badge.

Suddenly Greg's eyes were wide awake. "What do you want?"

"We need to speak to you about Brian Beckner," Elliot said. He noticed how Greg's demeanor had changed just by mentioning Brian's name. It was a subtle change, not one that would be noticed by everyone, but Elliot's trained eye caught it and he knew Olivia had noticed as well.

"What about Brian?"

"We were just wondering about your relationship with him," Olivia posed the question. "We spoke to a Dr. Billings in the Chemistry department and he said that you and Brian were lab partners last semester."

"Y-yeah we were," Greg stuttered.

"So you know him well?" Elliot asked.

"Well we worked together in labs and hung out a few times, but I wouldn't say we were good friends."

Olivia nodded slowly and scribbled a few notes onto her pocket notebook. "Can you tell us where you were last Wednesday?"

"I was in the library," Greg responded quickly. "Had a big test Thursday morning."

"Thank you for your time," Elliot said before heading towards the lobby and out of the dorm. The pair walked to their car in silence, each processing the newly received information. "You think he's lying?"

"Well he did offer up that alibi pretty quickly," Olivia pondered as she slid into the passenger's seat. "He didn't really strike me as the kind of kid that studies on a Wednesday night."

"You mean because he was still in bed at one o'clock in the afternoon?" Elliot laughed. "Besides who studies on Wasted Wednesdays?"

Olivia stopped in mid-movement and stared at her partner like he had just admitted to murdering the president. "What do you know about Wasted Wednesdays?" she asked while trying not to burst out laughing.

"What?" Elliot faked innocence. "You think I never partied when I was younger?"

"But you never went to college," Liv answered. "Well okay you did but you said you commuted."

"Doesn't mean I didn't have friends that would let me crash in their rooms," he smiled wickedly before pulling out of the parking space and heading towards the entrance to campus.

"I learn something new about you everyday," Olivia laughed.

"There are things you will never know about me Liv," he laughed.

"Like what?"

"Let's run his name and see if we come up with anything," Elliot said quickly before flashing an evil grin.

---------

SVU Squadroom  
16th Precinct

"Our friend Greg has a record," Olivia announced as she paraded into the bull pen, waving papers triumphantly.

"For what?" Elliot asked.

"A couple parking tickets and an arrest for aggravated assault," she read off the paper before handing it to her partner.

Elliot read over the papers, nodding slowly. "Bar fight that got out of hand," he surmised. "But it might give us a reason to bring him down for questioning."

"Elliot," Cragen called from the doorway to his office. He waited until Elliot joined him in his office before continuing, "Did we get a statement from Nathan Grainer yet?"

"He's being discharged today," Elliot responded. "Maureen said she'd bring him by on their way back to campus."

"Good." Cragen thought for a minute before proceeding, "You know you can't question him right?"

"I know."

"Get Olivia to take his statement and then send them on their way," he told him sternly. "We're pushing the boundaries on this one as it is."

"I understand Cap," Elliot said before exiting the office.

"Elliot," Olivia called from the doorway where she stood with Maureen and an exhausted looking Nate, "you have company."

"Hey sweetie," Elliot greeted his daughter with a chaste hug before turning to the young man. "How you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a Mac truck driven by an elephant," Nate responded dryly.

Olivia put her hand cautiously on Nathan's lower back, careful not to hurt his already tender ribs, as she directed him to the interrogation room. She returned a moment later, grabbed a bottle of water and her notepad before disappearing into the room again.

Maureen sunk into her father's desk chair, the last few days' events finally catching up with her. She propped her head up on her hand and sighed heavily.

Elliot crouched in front of her, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "How you doin?" he asked just above a whisper.

"I'm all right," she lied.

"Now I know you take after me," Elliot laughed as he stood and walked over to the coffee machine, filled a cup and brought it back over to his daughter. "You'll never admit when something's wrong."

Maureen accepted the cup graciously and took a long sip before setting it on Elliot's desk. "What do you mean?"

"Something's wrong, I can see it in your eyes," Elliot said perching himself on the edge of his desk. "Care to tell me what it is?"

Maureen sat in silence for a while, contemplating whether or not she should fill her father in. "What's going on between you and Olivia?" she asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Elliot asked trying to cover the look of surprise that he knew was present on his face. He couldn't believe how freely his daughter had asked him something about his personal life.

"C'mon Dad, I saw you two at the hospital," Maureen reminded him. "You looked pretty comfy together."

Elliot tried not to smile. "It's nothing beyond a professional relationship sweetie."

Maureen nodded before adding, "She likes you."

"And how do you know that?" Elliot asked.

"I'm a woman," she laughed. "I can just sense these things."

--------

Interrogation Room

"So where do I start?" Nate asked as he tapped his fingers nervously on the table.

"Where were you before you were attacked?" Olivia asked.

"I was leaving my job at the café," Nate responded slowly. "My shift was done at three and I was headed back to campus. I turned down a side street that takes me right to my dorm when I felt something hit the back of my head."

Olivia jotted a few notes down, but mainly she listened. The less writing the better because any written notes could bring sanctions on the squad for over-stepping their bounds in what should have been Vice's case. (A/N: I'm not really too sure who would handle an assault case but that sounds good) "Then what happened?"

"The guy started kicking me in the stomach," Nate recalled, visibly wincing from the memory.

"Did he say anything?"

"He was mumbling something but I couldn't make anything out," he said. "I think he was drunk."

"Why do you say that?" Olivia asked.

"Well I could smell the alcohol and his words were pretty slurred. But thankfully he was still coordinated enough to beat the crap out of me."

Olivia tried not to laugh, but she enjoyed Nathan's dry and sarcastic sense of humor; it reminded her a lot of Munch. She smiled at the boy across the table from her and delighted in seeing him crack a smile as well. _It's always easier when the victims can still laugh_, she thought to herself before mentally scolding. _Stop thinking of him as one of your victims! He wasn't sexually assaulted. I'm only interviewing him to look for possible connections to Melody Banks._ "Anything else?" she asked after gathering her thoughts.

"Not really," he sighed. "I kinda blacked out and after I woke up I was able to reach my cell and call 911. Then I called Maureen."

Olivia nodded and shut her notepad. "Well it looks like we're done here Nate. I think it best if you get home and get some rest."

Nathan nodded silently, pulling himself up and wincing in pain from his ribs.

"Didn't they give you any pain medication at the hospital?" Olivia asked as she held the door open for him.

"Yeah they did. I'm hoping it'll kick in any second now." Nathan stopped the minute he noticed Elliot and Maureen talking at the former's desk. He watched them for a minute before turning to Olivia and saying, "Thanks for not letting him interrogate me."

"Why's that?" Olivia asked a little taken back by his remark.

"I've never had a good track record with meeting parents," Nate confessed. "I always end up saying something stupid and that's just with regular parents. I can only imagine the stupid shit I would say to a cop."

Olivia smiled in spite of herself. "He's not really that bad of a guy. You just have to know how to keep him happy." Before she could even think about the double meaning of that sentence, Nathan was eyeing her with raised brows.

"And how do you do that detective?" he asked with a smile. Olivia's mouth opened to speak but Nathan cut her off. "I'm only kidding. Besides I've heard the stories from Maureen. I know how close you and Mr. Stabler are."

'And just how much does Maureen know!' Olivia's mind shouted but she was able to keep her outward appearances cool. "She's waiting for you," she said noticing Elliot and Maureen looking in their direction. "Go home and get some rest."

"Thanks Detective Benson," Nathan said quickly before leaving Olivia's side. It wasn't long until both he and Maureen were on their way out the door leaving the rest of the SVU squad to put the pieces together.

* * *

**I wrote this little ditty in the last half of my awesome spring break. But sadly I must return to school next week so I may now be updating for a while. I will however try to write every now and then. You know, between the studying and papers and tests and parties :)**


	9. Let's Talk About It

I Know This One  
Chapter 9-- Let's Talk About It  
A/N: This chapter is gonna have a bit of adult content in it, so consider yourself warned. Notice I changed the rating of the whole story, basically because of this chapter. Enjoy the EO goodness!

* * *

  
"So what d'we got here people?" Cragen asked. He was sitting perched on the corner of Olivia's desk while Munch and Fin sat at their own desks and Elliot and Olivia took either side of the white, dry-erase board. 

"Melody Banks was found here," Elliot started pointing to a small red circle made to indicate the location of the crime scene on the map of Manhattan that was taped to the board.

"And Nate was attacked here," Olivia added circling the location with a large blue marker, "three blocks away."

"So who looks good?"

"Well we've got Brian Beckner," Elliot said.

"The geeky science nerd who couldn't get laid if his life depended on it," Munch threw in from the sideline.

Olivia laughed softly thankful that at least one of them kept a sense of humor. It was always nice to have Munch around to break the ice in tough situations. "His alibi is shaky for Banks but we know he wasn't the one that attacked Nathan because he was here when the attack occurred."

"Thus brings in our old friend Greg," Fin interjected.

Elliot taped up a picture of Gregory Myers from the last time he was arrested for assault during a bar fight. "Greg's got a record with us, albeit a rather tame one. One assault and battery last year, got arrested at Jack's Tavern over on Columbus. Pled out and got probation and five hundred hours of community service which I'm told he is still doing."

"He have an alibi for the night Melody was murdered?" Cragen asked after absorbing all the information.

"Says he was at the library studying but there's no one to corroborate that," Olivia said.

"And how do these two know each other?"

"Lab partners last semester," Elliot answered. "Said they were acquaintances but not that close."

Cragen thought for a minute before speaking. "Bring them both in for questioning, see if you can get either to flip on the other."

As the crowd dispersed, Olivia grabbed a few of the files that were cluttering her desk and decided to return them to the file room from which they came. Elliot watched silently as she left the room and no one else followed, deciding that this was his chance. Grabbing a few stray files he followed his partner's footsteps making sure that no one would notice them. Although it was nothing out of the ordinary to see the two together in the hallways.

Elliot stepped into the file room and closed the door behind him loudly causing Olivia to jump and spin on her heel, fully ready to attack whoever it was.

"Geez Elliot," she sighed. "You know someday you're gonna sneak up on me and I'm just gonna clock you."

"Sorry," he apologized with a smile. He dropped the files on top of the cabinet and turned to Olivia with a serious look on his face. "When are we going to talk about this?"

"What's there to talk about?" she asked refusing to look her partner in the eye.

"C'mon Olivia," Elliot sighed stepping in front of her. "You can't tell me that you don't still think about that night."

Olivia dropped her head, staring at the floor tiles. She'd never admit it, but there wasn't a night that went by that she didn't think about the night they had spent together. She remembered the feeling of having Elliot above her, to feel him thrust into her, fill her. It was a feeling that she would never forget, a feeling of complete wholeness and peace. If she closed her eyes she could feel his fingertips dancing over her breasts; she could hear his moans filling her ears and his husky voice whispering in her ear.

"I know that look Olivia," Elliot whispered. He closed the gap between them until they were only inches apart. "You're thinking about it."

"So what if I am?" she asked with an annoyance in her voice. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Tell me you're not remembering me on top of you," he whispered. "All I can think about is the smell of your skin, the taste of your lips, the sound of your voice when you came beneath me." As he spoke Elliot trailed his fingertips up Olivia's arms and back down. "Can you honestly tell me that night meant nothing?"

"Of course it meant something," she said in a softer tone. Olivia reached her hands out and touched Elliot's face lightly. He leaned into her touch, placing his own hand on top of hers. "But we both know what would happen if we let this thing run our lives."

"This **thing** is called love Olivia," Elliot whispered moving her hand from his cheek until it rest above his heart. "I've known it since the moment I saw you, but I've never been able to admit it to myself let alone anyone else."

"You know as well as I do that we can't do this," Olivia argued. She let her arm go limp, expecting her hand to fall away from his chest, but to her surprise Elliot held her hand to his chest.

"Screw IAB," he growled in frustration. "There's got to be a way around this."

"One of us would have to leave the unit," she supplied. "And don't even tell me you'd be willing to leave because I know that's a lie." The silence fell between them filled only with the hushed voices of those outside the file room and the sound of their breathing. "They're gonna be looking for us," Olivia finally spoke.

"Let them look," he answered. Without hesitation he grabbed the back of her head and brought their lips crashing together.

Even if she had wanted to fight it, Olivia knew she was powerless when his lips were involved. It's like they had some sort of magnetic connection to her own and it was useless to resist. She felt his hands come to rest on her hips as he backed her against the filing cabinet.

"We gotta stop," Elliot said.

"Why?" Olivia asked. "I thought this is what you wanted."

"It is," he smiled and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, "but if we don't stop now I won't be able to."

Olivia laughed and rested her hand on Elliot's chest. "We don't need anyone walking in on that. Help me put these files away and we can get the rest of the day over with."

They spent the next few minutes putting files into the correct drawers before a knock at the door interrupted their conversation. "Captain's looking for you," Munch called to Elliot before turning and leaving.

"Wonder what that was about," Elliot said.

"Don't know but we better get back out there before they come looking for us again," Olivia laughed. She grabbed the door knob but stopped when she felt Elliot's hand on top of her own. She turned to question his actions only to find his face a few inches from her own. "Something I can help you with, Detective?"

"I was just wondering if we could continue this a little later? Say my place around 9?" he asked bringing his lips to her neck. "You bring the pizza, I'll supply the beer."

"I'll think about it," she replied seductively. "You better go see what Cragen wants." She exited quickly before Elliot had a chance to stop her.

Elliot took a deep breath to calm himself before making his way across the bullpen and knocking on Cragen's door. "You wanted to see me sir?"

"Take a seat Elliot," the Captain said in a friendly voice. He waited until the younger man closed the door and sat in one of the chair before continuing. "Look I know you may not want to hear this but you know I have to have this talk with you."

"About the case?"

"Yeah," Cragen sighed. "You know since your daughter is involved in this you're gonna be under a magnifying glass. Your behavior will be picked apart with IAB at the smallest mention."

"I know sir," Elliot sighed. He was no stranger to IAB involvement in his life. He was fairly certain he was at the top of their list of cops they would like to see riding a desk. "I promise my conduct will be nothing short of professional."

Captain Cragen smiled. "Just get this guy off the street and maybe I can get a weekend off for you and your partner. Give you two a chance to unwind."

Elliot smiled and tried not to laugh at the images that popped into his mind. _'Oh we could find a few ways to unwind,'_ he thought mischievously. "Thank you very much sir," he said before leaving the older man's office.

"So what'd the Captain want?" Olivia asked as she shrugged her coat on.

"Just wanted to make sure that I was staying professional on the case," he laughed grabbing his own coat. "Where are we off to?"

"Munch and Fin are going to pick up Brian," Olivia said.

"Which leaves us with our old pal Greg."

* * *

**There you go folks. I know it took me a while to update but the semester is nearly over and then I'll have much more time to write. Don't forget to review. I live on your feedback!**


	10. Interrogations

**I Know This One  
Chapter 10-- Interrogations**

* * *

**Special Victims Unit  
Interrogation Room 1**

Olivia stood in the observation room watching as Gregory Myers fidgeted nervously. She knew he had something to do with Nathan being attacked, but she needed a confession to do anything about it. Narrowing her eyes at the suspect she could see the very defined line of sweat that formed across his brown. _'He's nervous about something,'_ she thought almost victoriously. _'Shouldn't be too hard to flip him.'_ Olivia heard the door behind her open and close softly. She expected to look to her left and see Elliot standing there so she was quite surprised to see their ADA there. "Casey?" she asked looking at the woman's newly colored hair. "You dyed your hair?"

Casey ran a hand self-consciously through her now red locks. "Yeah well I was getting tired of being a blonde," she laughed. (A/N: I couldn't help myself with this one. I absolutely HATE Casey with blonde hair. She's not Alex Cabot people, let's not try to make her look like her.)

Olivia smiled and leaned in to whisper, "I always liked you better with red hair anyhow." Both women smiled and turned their attention back to the window. "Where's Elliot?"

"He's getting his ass chewed by Cragen," Casey said off-handedly.

Olivia's head snapped towards her companion. "What?"

Casey smiled before elaborating, "I guess Brian Beckner made a comment about not wanting Elliot anywhere near him so Cragen's attempting to find out why that is. What did Elliot do to him?"

"Nothing that I know of," Olivia said without pause turning her head back to the window.

Casey studied the detective. "Would you tell me if he did?" she asked with the slightest hint of bemusement.

"Absolutely not," Liv grinned. Before Casey could question her further Elliot walked through the door with a hard look on his face. "Munch and Fin questioning Brian?"

"Yeah," he stepped up to the glass next to Olivia. "How we gonna get him to talk?"

"Present him with what we know," Olivia suggested. "Tell him he's looking at prison time for assault and he'll sing like a blue jay."

Elliot smiled before moving to the door. "Let's do this." He opened the door and let Olivia pass him before her followed her into the room. "Good to see you again Greg."

"Detectives," Greg answered with a simple nod. He was trying to keep his emotions in check but the detectives could see right through it.

"We've got a few questions for you Greg," Olivia said pulling out the chair opposite him and taking a seat. "Now do you wanna explain your relationship with Brian Beckner to us again?"

"I already told you, we had Chem together but we weren't good friends," Greg said.

"That's not what Brian's saying," Elliot lied. "He told my co-workers that you two were quite chummy."

"He's lying," Greg shouted slamming his fists onto the table.

Olivia was surprised by the sudden outburst but managed to not visibly flinch. "So why don't you tell us the truth." Gregory hesitated, eyeing each of the detectives. "You know the DA will be a lot more lenient if you cooperate with us."

"Just tell us what happened," Elliot prompted.

"I'm telling you I didn't have anything to do with that girl's murder," Greg sighed in frustration. "All I know is that Brian had a thing for her, but she was too busy mooning over some other guy."

"The other guy being Nathan Grainer?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah," Greg answered. "Said the kid was getting in the way of his plans so he'd have to deal with him."

Elliot pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning against and began to pace around the room like a caged tiger. "Now that's where your story falls apart Greg."

"What do you mean?"

"Well we know that Brian didn't attack Nathan because he was still here when Nate was taken to the hospital," Elliot informed him.

"I don't see what that has to do with me," Greg said.

Elliot brought himself within inches of Greg's face and sized the boy up. "We know you attacked Nathan, don't play dumb with us. We tend to get a little edgy when people play dumb with us."

"I didn't attack anyone!" Greg shouted.

"Well we know that you had some part in this whole thing," Olivia said calmly. "And I just gotta tell you, the time you'll serve for assault is nothing compared to a rape/homicide conviction."

"First major offense," Elliot picked up her line of logic, "you're probably looking at probation. Especially if you cooperate with us. We'll put in a good word with the DA."

Olivia let the final offer sink in for a moment before continuing. She almost see the wheels turning in his head as he contemplated the possibly outcomes. "You don't really wanna spend a few years in Sing Sing do you?"

Greg let out a long sigh, "Fine."

* * *

**Special Victims Unit  
Interrogation Room 2**

Fin stood leaning against the cold concrete wall, arms crossed tightly across his chest, an intimidating look on his face. He knew what he was supposed to do: stand there and look scary. Occasionally he would throw in a witty clip but for the most part he remained silent.

"I'm gonna repeat myself in case your hearing is going," Brian sneered at Munch who sat across from him. "I didn't attack anyone and I sure the hell didn't kill anyone!"

"We've got your accomplice in the other room," Munch said calmly. "And I'm sure he's being a lot more cooperative than you are."

"What makes you so sure that Greg would talk?" Brian asked. He leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms in attempt to match Fin's glare.

A sinister smile graced John's face before he looked over his shoulder at his partner. "Did you say who our other suspect was?"

"Not me," Fin answered.

Munch turned back to Brian and eyed him suspiciously, "So how did you know Greg Myers was in the other room?"

Brian opened his mouth to respond but could not think of anything that would help his case. So he said the only thing he could think of. "I want my lawyer."

* * *

Cragen sighed on the other side of the glass. He watched as Munch and Fin exited the door and shut the door.

"Said the magic word," John said.

"Guess we're done talking to him," Fin sighed.

"We don't need anything from him," Casey informed the group as she entered. "Greg took a deal and told us everything. He confessed to attacking Nathan and said that Brian told him that he would 'make Melody pay dearly' for ignoring his advances."

"Is that gonna be enough to get a conviction?" Cragen asked.

Casey pursed her lips and reviewed what they had in her head. "It'll be tough," she confessed. "Anything else you can get me would be a great help."

"We'll go talk to Warner and see if she can fill in any of the holes," Fin said.

"I'll go schedule the Grand Jury," Casey said gathering her coat. "I should be able to get an indictment with what we've got."

As the three left the observation room Cragen watched as a uniformed office led Brian Beckner out of the interrogation room towards the lockup. He was followed quickly by Gregory Myers. It was a start but if they were going to get a conviction to stick they would need more evidence to tie Brian to Melody's murder.

* * *

Olivia closed the file and set it on top of her pile. "Done," she announced running her fingers through her hair.

"Stop bragging," Elliot chided. He still had two more reports to finish before he could leave.

"You're just mad that I finished my paperwork before you did," she laughed. Shrugging on her jacket Olivia crossed behind her partner's desk and bent down to whisper in his ear. "Finish that paperwork and I'll meet you back at your place, pizza in hand."

Elliot's eyes sparkled and a grin spread over his face. He set to work on his reports faster than he had done anything before. All the while he was imagining the night that lay before him with his beautiful partner.


	11. New Suspect?

**I Know This One  
Chapter 11--New Suspect?**

**

* * *

Apartment of Elliot Stabler**

Elliot fumbled with his keys, juggling a handful of grocery bags and a six pack of beer. He finally got the door open, stepped inside and pushed it shut with his foot. "Liv?" he called into the dark apartment. Only silence answered him. _'Must have beat her back here,'_ he thought. After a quick sweep of the rooms he knew he was alone and set out to ready his apartment for the night ahead.

**---------**

Olivia held the piping hot box in her left hand as she knocked on Elliot's door with her right. "It's open," came his voice from the other side. Olivia laughed before twisting the knob and stepping inside. "How did you know it was me? It could have been some pysch…" she stopped mid sentence when her eyes finally adjusted to the dimmed lights. There Elliot stood in the middle of the room in black dress pants, a baby blue shirt and a royal blue tie. His hands held a bouquet of yellow and white roses; a trademark Stabler smirk on his face.

"What is all this?" Olivia asked her eyes nearly as wide as her mouth.

"This is our pizza and beer night," Elliot laughed. He stepped towards his partner, took the pizza box from her and handed her the bouquet of flowers. He set the pie on the coffee table and stepped behind Olivia, wrapping his arms around her waist. "This is my way of telling you that you are the most wonderful person in my life and I am so happy we are finally together."

Olivia let out a soft sigh as she leaned back into Elliot's embrace. So many things in her life were not the way they should be. In a perfect world everything would always turn out the way she planned, the bad guys would always get caught, and they would always pay for their crimes. Everyone would be loved and no one would ever know the feeling of being left behind. But this world wasn't perfect and she was walking proof of that. If it wasn't for the unspeakable crimes of man she wouldn't be standing here, in the arms of her loving partner holding this beautiful bouquet of flowers. A small laugh escaped her lips as these thoughts crossed her mind.

"What's so funny?" Elliot whispered into her ear.

"Nothing," she giggled. "Just thinking about how contradictory my life is." She broke from his embrace and kicked her shoes off. She placed the flowers gently on the coffee table and returned to Elliot, this time facing him and sliding her arms around his waist as his encircled hers.

"Care to explain what that means?"

She kissed him softly on the lips and smiled. "The one thing that makes me so happy, being you, is the one thing I shouldn't have. Everything in this world has worked against us and yet we've beaten them all."

Elliot smiled as he lost himself in her deep brown eyes. He'd loved this woman for longer than he could remember and it had nearly killed him to keep those feelings bottled up. Leaning forward he captured her lips with his own, like magnets that refused to be parted. If it wasn't for the need for oxygen Elliot would have been perfectly happy to stay in that position for all eternity.

"Elliot we need to slow down," she gasped.

"Why is that?" he asked, attacking her lips once more.

"Because," Olivia smirked as she playfully pushed him away, "our pizza is getting cold and our beer is getting warm." She smiled as she took a piece of the pizza out of the box, folded it in half and stuffed it into her mouth. She moaned in delight at the savory mixture of cheese, sauce and meat.

"Enjoying that?" Elliot asked.

"More than you could ever know," she smiled wiping the sauce from the side of her mouth.

Elliot picked up a piece of pizza and devoured it quickly. He disappeared into the kitchen and quickly returned with two chilled bottles of beer. "Your drink madam."

Olivia took the bottle graciously and gulped half of it down, smiling as the cool liquid soothed her throat. The pair ate in comfortable silence until both bottles were dry and nearly half of the pizza was gone. Soon the coffee table was littered with sauce-ridden napkins and empty beer bottles.

"So what do you have on the agenda for tonight Mr. Stabler?" Olivia asked.

"Well now that our stomachs are full I thought a little entertainment would be in order," Elliot said with a sly wink.

Olivia brought both of her legs onto the couch and moved into a kneeling position. Elliot was still facing forward as she ran her fingers seductively down the length of this tie. "And what might we do to entertain ourselves?"

Without acknowledging her question, Elliot picked up a small remote from the coffee table. He pressed a few buttons and soon after the first chords of a slow jazz tune filled the air. Elliot stood and extended his hand to Olivia who was still seated on the couch. "May I have this dance?"

Olivia stared at his hand with bewildered amusement before slipping her palm against his. "You may."

They danced slowly, their feet barely lifting from the ground but merely shuffling on the hard wood floor. Olivia laid her head on Elliot's shoulder, breathing in the intoxicating aroma of his aftershave. Her left hand lay flat on his chest while the right slung to his shoulder. Elliot's arms intertwined around her small waist and lay gently on the curves of her hips.

"Thank you," Olivia whispers after they had been dancing for some time.

"For what?"

"For making this night so special." They continued to dance slowly even after the music ended until gradually they made their way into the bedroom.

---------

Elliot awoke to the sound of an irritating buzz. It took him a few seconds to place the sound as that of his front door intercom. Untangling his body from Olivia's still sleeping form, Elliot slipped on a pair of flannel pajama pants and made his way to the front door.

"Yeah?" he called into the intercom.

"Daddy it's me," came Maureen's voice through the crackling wires.

"Maureen? Come on up," he said pressing the small button that would unlock the main entrance to the building. A few moments later a soft rapping sounded and Elliot opened the front door and let his eldest daughter inside. "What's wrong honey?"

"They're making him a suspect!" Maureen blurted, thrusting a blue folded paper towards her father.

Elliot took the paper and looked over it. He had seen enough subpoenas in his life to know how to decipher the legal speak and get down to the actual meaning behind the words. "The defense is introducing Nate as a possible suspect," he read more to himself than to Maureen.

Maureen felt the tears begin to swell in her eyes. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know honey," Elliot whispered pulling his daughter into his arms. "I really don't know."

**

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Okay so I know it's been a long time since I've updated, but hopefully this story will be finished by the end of summer. Feed me more reviews and maybe it will make the process go faster ;)**


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